dont know how to cook

[lizcorral]

I want to try this however I am afraid that I will get hungry and not know what to eat. Does the book list recipes/ meal ideas? I am very basic with cooking and I really want to get healthier and feel good. I never even had cauliflower mash, never heard of most of the ingredients in some of these blogs. so is there like a list of exact foods some where?

 

Liz  

[1Maryann]

There is no exact list of foods, there are only guidelines.  You make the choices.  You don't have to eat anything you don't like.  Spend some time reading the forums and the program outline.  If possible, the best thing to do is order the book, "It Starts With Food".  It explains the 'why' as well as the 'how' of all this, and it offers many suggestions for meal planning.  "Well Fed" is a great cookbook as well.

 

You don't have to be a gourmet cook to follow this plan, although you will find yourself experimenting and being pleasantly surprised by all the new fantastic meals you can make that aren't very complicated.  You can start by eating what you know how to make and adding something new once a week when you have the time to gather all the ingredients and go slow.

 

If you poke around the forums, you will see the same blogs mentioned over and over, like nomnompaleo.com  Her recipes are delicious, and some are pretty simple.  She has an entire W30 plan, although you don't have to follow her suggestions and make something new every single day.  I try to make bigger batches of my favorites so I can get several meals out of it.  If I make a chili, or a stew, or a curry, I then have lunches for the week as well.

 

Keep posting if you have questions.  We'll try to help you.

[Tina R]

I want to try this however I am afraid that I will get hungry and not know what to eat. Does the book list recipes/ meal ideas? I am very basic with cooking and I really want to get healthier and feel good. I never even had cauliflower mash, never heard of most of the ingredients in some of these blogs. so is there like a list of exact foods some where?

 

Liz  

Here are a few simple recipes that I use.

 

Spaghetti - heat a pot over medium heat. Add 1 lb ground beef, chicken or pork (or a combo) stir until brown add 1/2 chopped onion and  1/4 - 1/2 chopped green pepper (if you like green pepper) stir around until it gets a little soft (2 - 3 min). You can also add other chopped veggies at this point like mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant. Add 1 can of chopped tomatoes, 1 can of tomato paste and 1/2 - 1 cup of water (until it is the consistency that you like). Add 1 tsp dried Italian herb blend, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt (taste before adding salt). Turn the heat down to simmer and let simmer 1/2 an hour or so. In a separate pan filled 1/2 way with water add 1 - 2 chopped Zucchinis, bring to a boil and then boil an additional 5 min. Serve with sauce. You can also serve this sauce over roasted spaghetti squash. http://www.elanaspantry.com/how-to-cook-spaghetti-squash/.

 

Another recipe is simple egg drop soup. This recipe calls for regular potatoes, just substitute white sweet potatoes to be whole30 compliant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yREFkmrrYiw&list=PLFD6951DEA624C0A0.

 

Here is my simple soup recipe. Place a pot over medium heat, add 1 Tbs coconut oil or ghee. Add some chopped onion and stir until soft, add a peeled and chopped carrot, add 2 celery stalks, chopped, add some frozen broccoli, frozen green beans, and any other veggie you like (cabbage, bok choy, swiss chard, spinach (just no corn to be whole30 compliant). Add enough compliant chicken broth to cover the vegetables and then add another cup or so of water. Add 1 bay leaf (or not), garlic powder, pepper. Bring to a boil and then cover and lower heat to simmer. simmer 15 - 30 min until the vegetables are tender. You can also add a splash of canned coconut milk at the end and just heat it through ( 2 min). Add salt after you have tasted it, it may not need any. You can add any precooked meat at the end until heated through.

 

And last is carrot soup. You can't get more simple then carrots water and curry powder. You can also add some canned coconut milk for a creamer texture. http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2007/09/carrot-soup.html. I don't puree my soup, I like it chunky.

 

Enjoy

[GFChris]

Start with boiling and scrambling eggs.  To hard boil eggs, put eggs in pan, cover with water, cover pan, and bring to boil. Shut off heat. Let sit covered for 15 minutes. Drain water and enjoy now or refrigerate for later.

Canned salmon, tuna, and chicken are your friends. Add celery and homemade mayo (or mashed avocado) and you're set for your protein and fat. I usually have a sweet potato to complete the meal.  Invest in a stick blender if you don't already have one. Worth every penny. 

 

Some of my favorite recipes:

- Primal Breakfast Casserole.  I use 1/2 a rutabaga instead of 3 turnips and beef instead of sausage. Cut the cooking time down 5 minutes in each phase. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-breakfast-casserole/#axzz2r2zux2Ec  If you don't already have a food processor with a shredder blade, highly recommend.

 

- Savory Sweet Potato Meatloaf. If you can't find compliant bacon, I'd try compliant pancetta or skip it, and just cook the raisins and onions in a compliant fat. Makes 2 loaves, so you can enjoy one right away and freeze the other for later. http://paleomg.com/paleo-savory-sweet-potato-meatloaf/

- Moroccan Meatballs. Tasty and easy peasy. Can make with ground lamb or beef. I've even skipped the sauce and made burgers with this recipe. http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2009/03/05/mmmmm-moroccan-meatballs/
 

Other thoughts:

- you can cook sweet potatoes in a microwave. Pierce the skin with a fork before putting in and rotate halfway through. Small sweet potatoes take a total of 4 minutes. Larger sweet potatoes, total 8-10 minutes.
- get a steamer insert to steam vegetables. String beans, cauliflower, and broccoli come to mind.

[ABS32013]

I'd also suggest checking out stupideasypaleo.com.  In addition to great recipes, in particular, she has some recent posts about making the choices you can handle (whether limited by budget, cooking skills, availability of ingredients, etc.) and NOT stressing about it.  You can definitely keep it simple.  I would just be wary of making it too boring.  An oft-heard complaint is that Paleo or Whole30 is boring and limiting.  It SO does not have to be either boring or limiting, but it can be easy to get caught up in the "need" for fancy ingredients and recipes.  You can keep it simple and add new items to your repertoire as you feel ready.

[annabel]

Roasting vegetables in the oven is also quite straightforward.... other than deciding how large to cut them so they all finish cooking at about the same time.

 

As for ingredients you've never heard of.

-Coconut aminos- don't bother with them, just add a bit of extra salt

-any spices where the recipe tells me to use less than 1/4 tsp I don't usually bother unless I have the spice already

 

If you stick with grilled meats, vegetables and eggs for a bit you can't go far wrong there.

[-aliwonderland-]

I am not big on cooking myself, but I am figuring this out!  (I'm on Day 14)

 

There are lots of great websites with recipes to get you started.

 

http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/

http://nomnompaleo.com/

 

These two are probably the most Whole-30 adherent.  You have to make sure you understand the rules very well so that you can identify which other recipes stick to the rules - although I am sure there are places on the forum that you could post to ask!

 

I would highly recommend planning out a few meals before you get started, and even making some on either Day 1 or Day 0.  Unless you love mornings and making eggs, then pre-making a breakfast casserole can be a real life-saver.  Then identify some more traditional recipes to get you started - for example, I love the tuna salad on clothes make the girl (although it does require making your own mayo - slightly challenging but even a broken/sloshy mayo makes a good tuna salad, speaking from experience!).  And also identify some more exotic and a little intimidating recipes.  You don't have to mash the cauliflower - roasting it is also delicious and might be an easier start! 

 

And if you are "basic in the kitchen" - I'm not sure if you mean cooking skills, or in what you usually cook!  If you mean cooking skills, be prepared to spend a lot of time cooking and cleaning (I sure do.)  So if you can get organized for it (which I have been struggling to do), then setting yourself up for a week's worth of meals can be super helpful - so I hear! (Melissa tells you how to do it here: http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2013/12/29/whole30-2014-week-1-meal-plan/)

 

Good luck!  Most of the cooking is pretty easy - and you will DEFINITELY not run out of things to cook!  Lots of great options on the web and in the books!